Tuesday 14 December 2010

The CLD Christmas Weight Challenge - Week 7

Sorry for the delay, this was caused by the rather unfortunate interference of the football last night.  We won't dwell...

So it's the penultimate week of the challenge.  The weekend saw me take part in the first Christmas feast of the year but I went carefully.  I managed to avoid pigging out on the Christmas cake but couldn't resist those sausage rolls!

Monday morning came round it was time to face the scales of weighty destiny.  I climbed on and discovered that I'd lost another 2lbs!  Alright, 16lbs in 7 weeks.  Fantastic!  I've reached the goal that I set myself so now I really can't wait for the last week to see just how much I can lose in this time.

I had a little look around to see if I could find an article that will help me not to crazy over Christmas and found this:

Don't Put On Weight Over Christmas - Tips to Avoid Weight Gain While Enjoying Holiday Foods

Many people gain weight over the holidays - so much delicious food, so much pressure to overeat. Here are ten tips to help take control and keep off the pounds.

Many of us weigh more in January than in December, the result of too many cups of eggnog, glasses of wine, or repeat trips to the festive table. After all, eating with family and friends is an important part of the whole atmosphere of Christmas.

Yet this seasonal tendency to overeat can have lasting consequences, even for the mildy overweight, and can cause real problems for people with eating disorders, according to eating disorders expert Dr. Cynthia Bulik.

Take Control of Your Holiday Eating

For people trying to be sensible and avoid gaining too much over Christmas, Dr. Bulik advises being realistic about the possibility of weight gain, and planning how to deal with it, by setting achievable goals. “I advocate weight maintenance instead of weight loss during the holidays,” she said,

She offers these hints, starting with two actions to avoid:
  • Don’t try to lose weight over the season: It’s impossible. “Trying to lose weight right now only adds stress and can set you up for failure,” she said.
  • Don’t try the pre-holiday crash diet so you can make it all up during the holidays. “Chances are you’d wake up in January weighing even more than you do before the crash diet.”
10 Tips to Manage Your Weight During the Holidays
  • Set a reasonable goal of what weight you’re prepared to tolerate: Write it in your diary or on the calendar and remind yourself about it before going for a meal.
  • Do a plateless reconnaissance mission: When you get to a holiday event – especially a buffet – take a good look around without a plate in your hand, then choose the main things you want to try. You don’t have to try them all. Once you’ve decided, get a plate and stick to your decision!
  • Don't skip meals: The “I’ll skip lunch to save up for dinner” strategy often backfires. It is much better to keep regular mealtimes even during the holidays.
  • Take the edge off your hunger before a party by eating a low-calorie snack, nuts, raw veggies or an apple.
  • Eat purely for pleasure. Don’t eat to prove Aunt Sally wrong or to eat less than cousin Debbie, or because of the pressure to try everyone’s food, or to have a perfect time.
  • Tactfully refuse extra helpings: Compliments like “your beans were just fantastic!” or “your almond crescents were absolutely divine, could I have the recipe?” go a long way towards distracting someone from trying to get you to eat more.
  • Drink smart and limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol can stimulate your appetite, which is exactly what you don't want to happen. Ask for water and a lime twist, or drink alternate glasses of wine and water.
  • Eat mindfully, especially at home:Eat slowly and be mindful of the food you are consuming. Try to eat at a table and avoid distractions such as the TV and phone while eating.
  • Be a mindful snacker: With extra cookies or chocolates sitting around the house, remember that every extra bite adds up! Enjoy your favorite treats in moderation, and balance by reaching for the crudités or nuts.
  • Do some exercise: Invite your family, friends,and colleagues on a brisk walk to enjoy the frosty winter air. This provides exercise, gets you away from the table and makes you feel much more lively after big holiday meals than just collapsing on the couch.
Source: Suite 101.com

Monday 6 December 2010

The CLD Christmas Weight Challenge - Week 6

Wow, what a week.  Snow, snow and more snow with a little bit of sleet and ice thrown in.  Got to be honest though, it was pretty good for the diet.

Thursday saw me donning the parker and walking the 2.5 mile route to work in the snow, in 50 minutes.  The getting there in the morning was the easy part!  Of course, if I'd thought it through I would have realised that walking back again in the evening might have been a bit more challenging.  Still, all in a good cause right?

Sunday saw me walk another 6 miles as part of the Nepal Trek team in more snow, ice and slush (I'll be posting more about that on my trek blog).  One week, 11 miles.  Got to have been good!  Turned out that actually, yes it was because when I got on those scales this morning another 2lbs had been shed.  That's right people, in 6 weeks I have lost 1 stone!  Yay me!!

Now that I've lost this weight, how do I keep motivated to keep it off and keep losing a sensible amount?  Well I found this little article that just might help:

Weight Loss Motivation - How To Get It And Keep It

These days it seems like everyone wants to lose weight. Whether it be for appearance issues or health reasons, it is becoming quite the trend. But we all know that it is not always easy to lose weight.

Weight loss motivation is one of the hardest types of motivation to acquire. Why is that? First of all we need to have food to survive. It is not something that we can just put away and never pick it up again. So healthy eating is one goal that we need to set for ourselves. This goal will give us a tool to weight loss motivation.

Another goal that we need to set is for exercise. You can't just cut down the food intake, you also need to exercise and raise your metabolism rate. One mistake that people make when trying to lose weight is that they deprive themselves of all the foods that they love. Wrong! You can have anything in moderation.

If you try to deprive yourself of the foods that you love, it will back fire on you and you will end up eating more than normal. Also, it will de-motivate you if you have the mindset that you can never have that favorite piece of chocolate cake again!

So setting goals is probably the first step in weight loss motivation. Set realistic goals for yourself. If you think that you can realistically stand to lose 15 pounds then write it down. If you think that you can start that goal by running 1 mile per day, then write it down. Maybe you can only walk 1/2 mile per day.

Whatever you think you can do realistically, will be your new goals. Just do not set them too high. Make sure that they are goals that are possible to meet.

It is a good idea to write the goals down and keep them where you can look at them daily. This will remind you of what is important to you and why you are wanting to achieve weight loss motivation.

Reward yourself when you lose a pound or two. Pat yourself on the back, buy a new sweater, or do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better (no food rewards, though!) A reward must be something that you desire. If it isn't, then it is not a reward and it will serve no purpose.

Out of all the reasons to get motivated, such as financial gains, workplace motivation, etc. Weight loss motivation seems to be the one most sought after and the most difficult to obtain. It can be done. It will eventually become a habit to do the morning workouts and replace the old habits in your life.

Source: ArticleCircle.com